English 24
1st March 2003
A little bit of GRAMMAR

Hi guys, with this week's grammar, we started the long and winding road of comparatives and superlatives, and we will be continuing with this theme for the next few weeks. So let's not waste more time and get straight to work.

We usually use than after comparatives.
§ This airline is cheaper than that one.

Now for the comparatives of short adjectives and adverbs we use "er"
e.g. cheap / cheaper; small / smaller; thin / thinner; fat/fatter
§ My cat is fatter than your cat
§ The red dress is cheaper than the blue one.
§ Your car is smaller than mine.

However we prefer "er" with some two syllable adjectives, especially adjectives ending in "y".

e.g. quiet /quieter clever /cleverer narrow/narrower
simple/simpler lucky /luckier funny/funnier
easy /easier pretty/prettier

§ The driving test was easier than I expected.
§ It's too noisy to study here, let's go somewhere quieter.
*If in difficulty see the spelling rules below.

We use more not "er" for other two-syllable adjectives and longer adjectives.
More modern; more serious; more expensive; more comfortable
§ 5 star hotels are more expensive and more comfortable than 3 star hotels.
§ Some parts of the area are more modern than others.
§ The situation was more serious than we first thought.

We also use "more" for adverbs which end in "ly".
More slowly; more seriously; more quietly; more carefully

§ Could you speak more slowly please?
§ Do you think we need to treat this more seriously?

We also say more often
§ I don't see Charlie very much now, I used to see him more often.
§ Paolo used to play football once a month but now he plays more often.
§ I wish my brother would phone home more often.

But we say earlier ( not more early)
§ You're always tired, why don't you take it easy for a while .. go to bed earlier during the week you might feel better ….

Spelling Rules:

Words ending in "y" (baby, silly, easy)
If a word ends in a consonant + y (by; ry; sy; ly):

Y changes to "ie" before s
§ baby/babies; country/countries
§ study/studies; secretary/secretaries

Y changes to "i" before ed:
§ study/studied; apply/applied; try/tried

Y changes to "i" before er and est:
§ easy/easier; happy/happier/happiest; lucky/luckier/luckiest

Y changes to "i" before ly:
§ happy/happily; easy/easily

Y does not change before ing
§ studying; trying; flying; buying

Y does not change if the word ends in a vowel + y (ay; ey; oy; uy)
Play/plays/played; enjoy/enjoys/enjoyed

Some exceptions: day/daily; pay/paid; lay/laid; say/said

Practice exercises

Exercise 1
Complete the following sentences, each time using the comparative form of one of the following adjectives or verbs.
Big near often quiet fat early cheap expensive crowded

1. I hate living so far away from my family, I wish I lived ______.
2. I thought a holiday in the Caribbean would be _ _ than this.
3. Children, could you be ____ please, your father has a terrible headache.
4. Every time I get the underground, it seems to be even __ ___ than the last time.
5. If I lived closer to my family, I would be able to visit them ___ ___.
6. This is _____ ____ than the car you had before.
7. Peter's put on weight, hasn't he ? He's ___ _____than he was last time I saw him.
8. I always wake up _____than Sean.

Exercise 2
Complete the following sentences. This time you have to use the comparatives of the words in brackets plus "than".
e.g. The holiday was more expensive than we had expected. (expensive)

1. The film was much_______ _____ we had imagined. (exciting)
2. The queue for the exhibition was much ____ ____ we had expected. (long)
3. The exhibition was much ______ _______ I had been led to believe. (interesting)
4. Living is the countryside is much _____ ________ ______ living in the city. (relax)
5. Riding a bike is ______ ______ it seems. (complicated)
6. Looking after 3 small children is _____ ____ going to work. (stressful)

Answers

Exercise 1
1. nearer ; 2. more expensive ; 3. quieter ; 4. more crowded ;
5. more often ; 6. much bigger ; 7. much fatter ; 8. earlier.

Exercise 2
1. more exciting than ; 2. longer than ; 3. more interesting than; 4. more relaxing than ; 5. more complicated than ; 6. more stressful than.